Vehicle signal



LIM-9,4%.,

G.1.ZEIS.

VEHICLE SIGNAL.

Mar.. 27, 1923.

FILED MAY 25,1921.

24 2f g@ i HMM Patented Mar. 27, 1923-.

UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE J. ZEIS, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE WIGGLER CORPORATION, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

VEHICLE SIGNAL.

Application led May-25,

To all whom t may concern: g a

Be it known that I, GEORGE J. ZEIs, a citizen of the United States, residing in Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Vehicle Signals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a signal for automobiles for indicating to the drivers of following ears, pedestrians and traiic officers, the direction in which the cha'eur intends to turn.

Its chief object is to provide a signal of -this character which is conspicuous and which attracts attention of traic in either direction.

A further object is to provide a. simple and inexpensive signal, which is easy to operate and which can be readily installed.

1n the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improvement mounted on the body of an automobile. Figure 2 is a plan View thereof. Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal section on line 3-3, Fig. 2. Figure 4 is a horizontal section on line 4 4, Fig. 3. Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical transverse section on line 5 5, Fig. 1. Figures 6 and 7 are vertical transverse sections on the correspondingly numbered lines in Fig. 3. Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section on line 8--8, Fig. 2.

Similar characters of reference refer to like parts throughout the several views.

10 represents the supporting member or casing to which the operating parts of the signal are connected and which is provided in its underside and adjacent outer side with an opening 11, while its front side is closed by a removable cover plate 12. The latter is preferably provided at its inner end with attaching lugs 13 which interlock with corresponding openings .14 in the inner wall of the casing, while its outer end is secured by means of a screw l5 to an inwardly bent lip 16 formed at the adjacent outer side of said casing, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6. The inner wall of the latter extends beyond the cover plate, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, to form an attaching fiange 16a by means of which the casing is secured to the outer side of the automobile body 17 adjacent to the seat of the driver.

Pivotally suspended from this casing to swing vertically is a vibratory indicator arm 1921. Serial" No. 472,360.

18 which is preferably stamped of sheet metal and provided in its face with an arrow 19 for clearly indicating the direction of travel of the automobile when the arm is moved to its operative or signaling position, as shown by full lines in Fig. 1. rIhis pivotal connection preferably consists of a transverse pivot pin 20 removably mounted in bearing openings 21, 22 formed in the rear wall of the casing 1() and cover plate 12, respectively. Fixed on the rear end of thel pivot pin and within the casing is a rotatable member or pulley 23, preferably of semi-cylindrical form and constructed of two plates 24, 25 riveted or otherwise permanently fastened together to form a peripheral groove 26 between said plates. Extending forwardly from the lower edge of the rear plate 25 and at right angles thereto is a base-fiange 27 from the front edge of which extends an upright flange 28 through which the front end of the pivot pin 2O projects, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The indicator arm 18 is secured at its inner end to the base flange 27 of the pulley by a flexible or yielding connection which permits said arm to vibrate in a vertical plane when moved to and while in signaling position. This connection is preferably effected by two coil springs 29 disposed lengthwise of the indicator arm and secured at their ends to the inner end of said arm and said flange, respectively. Any suitable means may be employed for fastening the springs to these parts, but as shown in Figs. 3, 4, 6 and 7, by way of example, the inner ends of said springs are gripped between the base flange 27 and a clamping plate 30 connected bya bolt 31 with said base flange. The outer ends of the springs are gripped in a similar manner between a pair of clamping plates 32, 33, one of which is riveted or otherwise secured to the corresponding end of the indicator arm, while the othervone is connected with such fixed plate by a bolt 34. To prevent lateral displacement of these springs from their clamping members, the base fiange 27 and clamping-plate 32 are preferably provided with curved recesses or seats 35, 36, respectively, in which the corresponding portions of said springs are seated.

By thus liexibly mounting the indicator arm, it not only wig-wags upon being moved to signalling position; but continues this movement while held in such position by reason of the'vibration of the car in traveling along the road.

Any suitable means may be employed for moving the indicator arm from its normal,

bly connected at its upper end to the pulley 23, said cable passing through openings 38 and 39 in the casing 10 and automobile body 17 and extending downwardly therefrom and connected at its lower end to a vertically swinging operating lever or handle 40. The latter is fulcrumed at 41 to a bracket 42 mounted on the inner side of the automobile body so that the same is within convenient reach of the driver. As shown in Fig. 1, the lower end of the cable is preferably fastened to a short tube 43 pivoted to the lever 40 to swing in the plane of movement thereof. It will be noted that the fulcrum of the latter is a suitable distance from the automobile body, so that in moving the indicator arm to signaling position, said levers may be swung beyond a dead center positionn to reliably hold the arm in such position. While in this position, the weight of the indicator arm tends to pull upwardly on the cable 37 and hold the operating lever against kthe inner wall of the adjacent portion of the automobile body.

A sto-p lip 44, extending inwardly from the rear wall of the casing 10 and with which the pulley 23 is adapted to engage, serves to limit the upward movement of the indicator arm 18 be ond a. substantially horizontal position. 15h its normal pendant position, the free end of this arm engages,

the automobile body.

As shown in Fig. 3, the periphery of the pulley is in close proximity to the upper inside wall of lthe casing, thereby preventing the cable 37 from leaving the groove in said pulley during the movement of the indicator arm to and from signaling position.

To move the indicating arm 18 from its normal pendant position, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. l, toits substantially boris zontal signaling position, as shown by full lines in the same figure, the driver of the car pulls down the operating lever 40 and moves it against the body of the car, thus holding the arm in signaling position. as-

previously described. The engagement of the pulley 2 3 with the stop 44 produces a vibratory motion of the indicator arm by reason of its flexible connection with said pulley. To restore the arm to its normal position, the operating lever is swung upwardly to ermit said arm to drop by gravity agalnst the side of the vehicle body.

I claim as my invention:

1. A signal oi .the character described comprising a casing being open at its nuclei-- `coiled spring serving as a means for conside, a rotatable member in said casing haviing a transverse pivot pin journaled in said casing, a vertically-swinging indicator arm arranged externally of said casing, and a necting said arm with 'said rotatable member and as a means for causing vertical vibration of said indicator arm.

2. A signal of the character described comp-rising a support, a rotatable member carried by said support, an indicator arm, a coiled spring serving as a means 'for con- .necting said arm with said rotatable member and as a means for causing vertical vibration of said indicator arm, an operating lever, and a cable connected at one end to .Said member and at its other end to said lever, the latter being arranged to hold said indicator arm in signaling position.

3. A signal of the character described i comprising a support, a rotatable member of substantially semi-circular form carried by said support and having a flange extending from the straight edge thereof, an indicator arm, a iiexible connection between said member and said arm, comprising a coiled spring serving as a means for connecting said arm with said rotatable member and as a means for causing vertical vibration of said indicator arm, said connection being secured at i its inner end to said flange and at its outer end to the inner end of said arm, and means for actuating said rotatable member.

4. A signal of the character described comprising a casing open at its underside, a removable cover plate for said casing, the side wall of said casing and said plate being provided with bearing openings, a rotatable member in said casing having a transverse pivot pin engaging said openings, a vertij cally-swinging indicator arm arranged externally of said casing, a iexible connection between said rotatable member and said arm and extending through said opening, and comprising a coil spring serving as a means :for connecting said arm with said rotatable member and as a means for causing vertical vibration of said indicator arm, and means for actuating said member.

5. A signal of the character described comprising a support, an indicator arm adapted to swing from a vertically depending position to a horizontal position relative to said support, a flexible member connected at 011e end to said arm and pivoted at its opposite end to said support, and comprising a coil spring serving as a means for connecting said arm with said rotatable member and as a means for causing vertical vibration of said indicator arm, a stop which limits' the upward swinging motion of, said flexible member, and manually operated means for elevating said flexible member and indicator arm, said member and arm being returned by gravity to the vert-ical l pendant position when released from said manual elevating means.

6. A signal of the character desorifbed comprising a support, a hub pivoted on said support and having a plate arranged with its flat side parallel with the axis of said hub, a signal armhaving a fiat plate, two coil springs arranged side by side and having their corresponding outer and inner ends engaging one of their sides with the plates of said hub and arm, said-springs functioning as means for connecting said hub plate and signal arm plate and also as a rneans for causing vertical vibration of sald signal arm, inner and outer clips having grooves engaging the opposite sides of said springs at the inner and outer ends of the saine` and inner and outer screws connecting said inner and outer clips with said hub and arm plates, respectively.

GEORGE J. ZEIS. 

